"Sea of Love"

4AD

Artists:

Despite their reputation as buttoned-up fuddy-duddies, the National excel at the kind of vigorous, chugga-chugga rock song that young bands (e.g. Interpol) tend to perfect before moving on to weirder (and, sometimes, worse) constructions. "Sea of Love", the track from which Trouble Will Find Me takes its title, continues in the tradition of songs like "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Bloodbuzz Ohio"; you could jog to it, or soundtrack a montage of kids navigating the city at night. Singer Matt Berninger repeatedly addresses a "Joe" and chides him for the kind of upper class trappings the band has long been associated with: "What did Harvard teach you?"

But "Sea of Love" stands out for its boiled-over final third when the band volleys with its singer, a trick the National haven't broken out since the closing moments of Alligator's "Secret Meeting". It's a big, cathartic reminder that, at least for this game, the teams are not Berninger vs. all. Of course, those extra voices-- "Don't drag me in!"-- are only helping Berninger beg off the sea of love, proving that paranoia and doubt, like big, churning rock numbers, aren't just a young man's game.

[from Trouble Will Find Me; out 05/20/13 in Europe and 05/21/13 in the U.S. via 4AD]